trips's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Unfortunately, the writing style just didn't work for me, which severely impacted my enjoyment of the story. Bennett slowly introduces the plot to the reader and I mean like really slowly, preferring to world build and write witty banter between characters for the majority of the first 50% of the book. Which will work for some people, just not me. In fact, I almost dropped the book, but there is a really good hook at around 50% mark that made me want to see the story through to the end. The plot does get quite interesting after that point, but it felt like a slog to get there. So, mixed feelings! I liked some parts, really didn't like others.
Graphic: Slavery, Violence, Blood, and Torture
Moderate: Toxic relationship
jjjreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
Graphic: Vomit, War, Grief, Injury/injury detail, Medical content, Violence, Xenophobia, Confinement, Excrement, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Blood, Bullying, Classism, Torture, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Slavery, Stalking, Suicide, Trafficking, Body horror, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Colonisation, Eating disorder, Genocide, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Misogyny, Death, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual assault, Cursing, Drug use, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Alcohol, and Rape
wysperias's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Injury/injury detail, Torture, Confinement, Body horror, Murder, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Sexism, and Slavery
Minor: Sexual assault, Vomit, and Cannibalism
laguerrelewis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Injury/injury detail, Sexual harassment, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Gore, Grief, Alcohol, Slavery, Torture, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, Violence, Vomit, War, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Classism, Death, Medical content, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Cannibalism and Death of parent
w33nr's review against another edition
1.5
Graphic: Slavery, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Body horror, Blood, Classism, Gore, and Sexual assault
tuesdaye's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Slavery, Torture, and Violence
kell_xavi's review against another edition
2.5
Bennett’s basic world-building is kind of cool, though (and this may also be an element of the kind of book I’ve just described) perhaps not to the well-trained, in-depth fantasy reader. The idea that codes can train objects to act like other objects, essentially as though their reality is different and specific to another thing, is intriguing. The scrivers and fabricators, lexicons and Sancia’s powers are all fascinating. The problem is that a lot of the mythology is really complex, the advanced scrived designs get a bit out of hand, and Bennett ends up juggling a lot of stuff that, despite sometimes lengthy explanations, is often a mix of suspension of disbelief and deus ex machina. Which would be a good joke, considering how much of the story deals with gods, machines, advanced beings, magic cyborgs, and the like, except that the piling up of all these pieces sort of cracks the foundations that the story is built on. I was never sure, when the characters refer to god (as in, “god help me” etc.), which god they speak of, since there’s no religion mentioned and the distant past is legend. They also swear way too much, all said, so that it became a distraction and the characters blended together at times; and this alternate universe looks a lot like steampunk 19th century Italy.
Some of the reveals about the key, about Sancia, are moving, but there’s a way to write trauma without putting that trauma in the reader, and Bennett was not interested in doing so. There’s an abundance of scenes of torture, war, enslavement, of misogyny, of medical trials, of starvation and mutilation, a lot of which I didn’t feel served it’s purpose. It’s a terrible world that’s terrible to live in. Sancia is a scrappy thief with a weird curse, and one of the few people worth rooting for. Mostly, these circumstances made me less likely to read the rest of the trilogy.
Graphic: Torture, Slavery, War, Medical trauma, and Violence
Moderate: Excrement, Misogyny, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, Body horror, and Colonisation
Minor: Vomit, Child abuse, and Physical abuse
iforgotilivedhere's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Spoiler
Near the end whenever Sancia and her crew are trying to get the imperiat and Clef back, we had a whole section of them just going over scientific and boring shit that could of been easily summarized in a paragraph or just a page.That was really my only problem. I’m so exited to see how Sancia and Berenice’s relationship grows. I’m so exited for some good sapphic romance!!
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Torture, Blood, Body horror, and Slavery
Moderate: Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Alcohol, Sexual content, and Sexism
Minor: Emotional abuse, Genocide, Child abuse, Death of parent, Death, Classism, Cursing, and Bullying
wickedreads's review against another edition
4.25
Robert you are such a fantastic writer and you wrote such a good female lead. Robert, you are officially one of my top male non-contemporary writers. You and Scott Westerfeld showing everyone how it's done!
Graphic: Torture, Gore, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault and Slavery
TWings: torture, GORE, violence, blood, torture, SA, slavery,Spoiler
mind controlrandiriel's review against another edition
I wrote that much partway through reading. I've come to amend.
Spoiler
If you can use anything but rape, DON'T USE RAPE.Graphic: Medical trauma and Mental illness
Moderate: Slavery, Medical trauma, Trafficking, Suicide, Sexism, Murder, Mental illness, Violence, Torture, Sexual assault, War, Death, Kidnapping, Cursing, and Classism
Minor: Cannibalism, Vomit, and Racial slurs